You are now a municipal employee. In 1978, you terminated your state employment with a state agency. You ask whether General Laws Chapter 268A, § 5 prohibits you in any way from appearing before the agency as an attorney either on behalf of private clients or on behalf of the City. Pursuant to s. 3(g) of chapter 268B, the Commission renders to you the following opinion.
As a former state employee, § 5(a) precludes you from working on any cases or other "particular matters" (as defined in § 1(j)) as a state employee. You are prohibited from performing services as an attorney for either the City or private clients on those matters on which you actually worked during your tenure as a state employee and you are prohibited forever from being involved in any of those matters.
Section 5(b) also prohibits you from appearing before the agency or one year after the termination of your state employment in connection with any particular matters pending in that agency, whether or not you participated in them, if they were within your "official responsibility" (as defined in s. 1(i)) during the last two years of your state employment. This prohibition, however, applies to you only through 1979.
Section 5 of the Conflict of Interest law does not prohibit you from appearing before the agency on any cases or matters which arose after the termination of your state employment in 1978.
We enclose for your further information and guidance, Conflict of Interest Opinion No.841, issued by the Attorney General on September 11, 1978.
End Of Decision
